3e 


PROTESTANTISM 
IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


BY 

GEO.  F.  PENTECOST,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 


Preached  in  Manila',  P.  I.,  Sunday  Eveninr,  December  21,  1902 


'' Render  therefore  unto  Ccesar  the  things  which  are  Citsar's  ; 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God’s."— Matt.  ocxi:2i. 


THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

OF  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S.  A. 

156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


igo3 


PROTESTANTISM 
IN  THE  PHILIPPINES 


BY 

GEO.  F.  PENTECOST,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 


Preached  i.\  Manila,  P.  I.,  Sunday  Evening,  Dece.mber  21,  1902 


‘•Render  therefore  unto  Ccesar  the  things  which  are  Ccesar's  ; 
and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God’s.’’— Matt,  xxi ; zr. 


THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

OF  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S.  A. 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


1903 


PRESS  OF  THE 


Jersey  City  Printing  Company 
Jersey  City,  1903 


PROTESTANTISM 
IN  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


BY 

REV.  GEO.  F.  PENTECOST,  D.D.  LL.D. 


Preached  in  Manila,  P.  I.,  December  21,  1902 


"■  Render  there/ ore  unto  CcBsar  the  things  which  are  Cessar's  ; and  to  God 
the  things  which  are  God’s.” — Matthew  xxii.,  21. 

“ The  founders  of  our  Government  were  profoundly  convinced  that  religion 
must  be  upheld  for  the  benefit  of  the  State,  and  that  it  was  the  basis  for  the 
morality  of  the  citizen.” — Governor  Taft’s  Letter  to  the  Pope. 

The  words  I have  chosen  for  my  text  to-night  contain  the  fruitful  germ 
out  of  which  has  been  developed  every  great  and  fundamental  principle 
upon  which  is  founded  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Republic,  and 
especially  those  which  concern  the  relation  of  the  State  to  the  Church ; in- 
dividual religious  liberty,  the  temporal  and  spiritual  powers  to  each  other ; 
and  the  obligations  of  the  individual  to  God  in  their  religious  life  and  to 
constituted  State  authority  in  their  political  life.  I have  thought,  therefore, 
that  it  is  a text  not  out  of  place  in  the  use  of  such  a theme  as  I have  to-night 
suggested  for  your  consideration,  viz  : 

“PROTESTANTISM  IN  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS;  ITS  RE- 
LATION TO  THE  STATE,  TO  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH,  AND  TO  THE  PEOPLE.” 

I.  PROTESTANTISM. 

Protestantism  is  a term  which  stands  for  both  protest  and  affirmation. 
The  general  faith  of  Protestantism  has  expressed  itself  in  a number  of 
great  creeds,  differing  somewhat  in  statement  of  details,  but  all  in  sub- 
stantial agreement  with  each  other.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  review  or 
attempt  to  restate  all  these  teachings  or  doctrines,  but  only  to  point  out  a 
few  of  the  leading  tenets  of  Protestantism,  among  which  are  these  : 


4 


In  Respect  of  the  Bible  and  the  Individual. 

That  the  Bible  is  of  Divine  origin  and  authority. 

In  Respect  of  the  Organization  and  Function  of  the  Church. 

The  Church  is  composed  of  all  believers  without  distinction.  That 
One  is  our  Master,  even  Christ ; and  that  all  believers  are  brethren. 

Concerning  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Sacrifice. 

Protestants  believe  in  the  sole  and  only  sacrifice  of  Christ  and  his 
mediating  priesthood,  as  the  ground  of  human  redemption,  without  the 
intervention  of  any  human  priest  or  Church.  That,  as  has  already  been 
said.  He  is  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

Concerning  the  Terms  of  Salvation. 

Protestantism  teaches  that  salvation  is  by  faith  alone  in  the  Son  of 
God  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  on  the  warrant  of  the  word  of  God  alone, 
without  the  aid  or  mediation  of  priests  or  ceremonials  or  the  conditional 
merits  of  our  own  good  works. 

In  Relation  to  the  Sins  of  Believers. 

Protestant  Christianity  teaches  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified  and 
risen  Saviour,  is  the  only  Confessor  and  absolving  Priest  of  the  believer : 
“If  we  confess  our  sins  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  our  sins  and  to 
cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness.”  “If  any  man  sin  we  have  an  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  Righteous.” 

II.  THE  RELATION  OF  PROTESTANTISM  TO  THE  STATE. 


In  the  discussion  of  this  branch  of  our  subject  let  it  be  borne  in  mind 
that  Protestants  seek  to  regulate  their  relation  to  the  State  on  the  same 
principle  that  governs  them  in  determining  any  other  doctrine ; namely, 
by  an  appeal  to  the  word  of  God.  Our  Lord  has  not  left  us  without  direc- 
tion as  to  our  relation  to  the  temporal  powers  or  the  State.  We  are  to 
“Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar’s”  just  as  truly  and  con- 
scientiously as  we  are  to  render  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God’s. 
When  the  tax  collector  demanded  tribute,  of  Him  and  His  disciples.  He 
not  only  counselled  the  payment  of  taxes  but  wrought  a miracle  that  they 
might  have  the  wherewithal  to  pay  the  tribute  money.  He  would  not  even 


plead  His  poverty,  lest  that  might  be  misinterpreted  as  a repudiation  of  the 
rights  and  powers  of  the  State.  Nor  is  the  relation  of  the  Christian  to  the 
State  merely  a passive  one.  The  State  is  as  much  an  ordinance  and  institu- 
tion of  God  as  is  the  Church.  “Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher 
powers;  for  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever 
therefore  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God : for  the  ruler 
is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.  Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  sub- 
ject, not  only  for  wrath  but  for  conscience  sake.  For  this  cause  pay  ye 
tribute  also ; for  they  are  God’s  ministers.  Render  therefore  to  all  their 
dues ; tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due ; fear  to  whom  fear ; custom  to  whom 
custom;  honor  to  whom  honor.”  (See  Rom.  xiii.)  And  again  the 
Apostle  says  ; “Fear  God ; honor  the  King.”  I have  quoted  these  sayings 
of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  because  it  is  by  their  teachings  that  Protestants 
are  guided. 

In  connection  with  these  Divine  directions  for  our  governance  two 
things  are  apparent : First.  That  there  is  no  hint  that  the  State  has  any 

authority  over  the  Church  or  the  individual  conscience,  in  matters  spiritual 
and  religious,  but  only  over  Christians  as  they  are  citizens.  Second. 
There  is  no  hint  that  the  Church  has  any  authority  over  the  State ; but  that 
as  individual  Christians  we  may  not  repudiate  citizenship  nor  the  obliga- 
tions that  rest  upon  us  as  such.  We  must  both  for  fear  and  conscience 
sake,  recognize  and  honor  the  constituted  authorities  as  being  appointed  of 
God  for  the  protection  and  government  of  the  common  community. 

The  Mutual  Relation  of  Church  and  State. 

In  a recent  address  delivered  in  this  place  on  “The  American  in  the 
Philippines,”  I endeavoured  to  point  out  these  two  fundamental  principles 
in  the  American  Constitution.  The  absolute  organic  separation  of  Church 
and  State.  In  which,  however,  the  State  guarantees  to  every  citizen  the 
right  of  private  judgment  in  all  religious  matters  and  the  perfect  freedom 
to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  and  under 
his  own  chosen  ecclesiastical  vine  and  figtree,  the  State  protecting  him  in 
the  exercise  of  this  religious  liberty.  On  the  other  hand  the  Church  dis- 
claims and  is  estopped  from  attempting  to  dictate  or  control  the  State  in 
the  free  exercise  of  its  proper  political  functions.  Acting  on  this  great 
Constitutional  principle  of  total  organic  separation  of  Church  from  the 
State,  it  is  not  implied  that  there  is  antagonism  between  Church  and  State. 
On  the  contrary,  the  State  recognizes  religion  as  essential  to  its  well-being 
and  as  the  only  sure  foundation  of  morality  in  her  citizens.  The  Church 
as  a body  and  in  the  person  of  her  individual  members  recognizes  the  obliga- 
tions of  loyalty  to  the  State  as  being  ordained  of  God. 

In  this  connection  I do  not  think  it  is  a breach  of  confidence  to  quote 


6 


a paragraph  from  the  late  official  correspondence  between  Gov.  Taft  and 
the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  the  Pope  of  Rome,  in  reference  to  the  retirement 
of  the  Spanish  friars  from  these  Islands,  not  because  they  are  Roman 
Catholic  priests,  but  because  they  have  been  the  chief  cause  of  the  political 
and  social  discontent  of  the  people  and  their  presence  here  is  preventing 
the  pacification  of  the  Islands.  Gov.  Taft  says : 

“I  do  not  need  to  assure  your  Holiness  that  the  attitude  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Philippine  Government  is  not  one  of  unfriendliness  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  policy  of  separating  Church  from  State,  as 
required  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  does  not  indicate  hostility 
to  religion  or  the  maintenance  of  any  Church.  On  the  contrary,  the 
founders  of  our  government  were  profoundly  convinced  that  religion  must 
be  upheld  for  the  benefit  of  the  State  and  that  it  was  the  basis  for  the 
morality  of  the  citizen;  and  in  practice  it  will  be  found  that,  in  the  United 
States  the  rights  of  all  Churches  both  as  to  property,  administration  and 
practice  of  religion,  are  preserved  and  protected  even  with  more  scrupulous 
care  than  in  some  countries  where  Church  and  State  are  said  to  be  united. 
I venture  to  point  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
America  as  indicating  that  it  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  extension  of  the 
same  rule  over  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  Government  of  the  United 
States  treats  all  Churches  and  creeds  alike.  It  protects  them  all,  but  favors 
no  one  against  the  other.  It  is  not  engaged  in  proselyting  from  one  Church 
or  creed  to  another,  and  any  officer  using  his  office  directly  or  indirectly  for 
such  a purpose,  ought  to  forfeit  his  office.” 

This  I call  as  good  an  exposition  of  the  American  doctrine  of  separa- 
tion of  Church  and  State,  of  Religious  Liberty,  and  at  the  same  time,  the 
m.utual  and  sympathetic  relation  of  Church  and  State,  as  I have  ever  seen  and 
I venture  to  say  that  it  is  in  every  particular  the  Protestant  doctrine  on  this 
subject.  At  home,  by  bravely  adhering  to  and  insisting  upon  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  noble  and  Christian  doctrine  we  have  been  saved  from  all  un- 
seemly controversies  between  the  Government  and  the  various  religious 
communities  which  live  and  flourish  in  our  country ; and  I may  add  from  any 
violent  conflicts  between  contending  religious  sects  ; for  instance,  as  between 
the  Catholics  and  Orangemen  in  Ireland.  Nor  would  it  be  possible  in  our 
country  to  be  torn  and  distracted  as  the  people  of  England  to-day  are  over 
the  Educational  Bill,  by  which  the  Established  Church,  supported  and  pro- 
tected by  the  State,  is  attempting  to  enforce  sectarian  education  on  the 
Non-conformists,  in  opposition  to  their  conscientious  scruples.  In  this 
unhappy  controversy  England  is  being  awakened  to  the  fact  that  she  is  not 
truly  a Protestant  Nation.  The  task  still  remains  for  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity in  that  great  country  to  divorce  the  English  Episcopal  and  all  other 
forms  of  the  Church  from  State  control  and  patronage.  Under  our  Con- 
stitutional law  we  in  America  have  settled  the  educational  question  without 


this  unseemly  strife  between  the  State  and  the  Churches  and  in  a way  agree- 
able both  to  Protestants  and  Romanists.  Under  this  beneficent  Constitu- 
tional Law  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  Churches  side  by  side 
have  grown  and  prospered,  and  I may  say  have  increasingly  learned  to 
respect  each  other  and  cultivate  amicable  relations  on  the  basis  of  such 
points  of  common  Christian  truth  as  we  have  found  existing  in  common 
between  us,  while  exercising  a tolerant  charity  toward  each  other  on  points 
of  disagreement.  In  America,  I venture  to  say  that  Roman  Catholic 
Christianity  is  freer  and  more  enlightened  and  patriotic  than  in  any  other 
country’  in  the  world ; and  that  Protestant  Christianity  is  filled  with  a 
broader  and  more  generous  spirit  than  is  found  in  any  other  of  the  so-called 
Protestant  nations.  In  other  words  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
our  country  there  is  a larger  measure  of  the  true  catholic  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity and  less  bitterness  of  feeling  among  the  various  sects  of  Christianity 
than  can  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  whole  world.  I am  sure  that  there  is 
no  Protestant  here  or  at  home  in  the  States  who  does  not  fully  and  heartily 
wish  and  pray  that  the  same  state  of  things  may  prevail  in  these  Islands. 

Loyalty  of  Protestaxtism. 

It  is  of  the  spirit  of  Protestantism  to  be  loyal  to  the  State  under  which 
we  live  and  are  protected  in  the  exercise  of  our  religious  liberty.  Patriotic 
loyalty  is  a cardinal  tenet  of  American  Protestantism.  We  love  our 
country  and  are  loyal  to  our  government  as  we  love  our  God  and  are  loyal 
to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  And  again,  speaking  for  myself  and  my  fellow 
Protestants,  both  here  and  at  home,  we  are  in  like  manner  loyal  to  the 
Insular  Government  of  these  Islands,  and  in  an  especial  manner  to  the  honor- 
able and  honored  Governor  of  these  Islands  who  has  made  us  glad  with  his 
presence  here  to-night,  whose  aim  in  the  discharge  of  his  exalted  duties  is 
as  lofty  as  it  is  patriotic  and  whose  administration  is,  we  believe,  as  free 
from  sectarian  bias  as  it  is  from  mere  personal  and  political  selfishness  and 
official  corruption.  May  God  spare  him  long  to  fulfil  the  great  task  which' 
has  been  by  his  country  imposed  upon  him ; give  him  the  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  a sound  mind ; fill  him  with  the  spirit  of  righteousness  and  the  fear  of 
God : and  when  he  has  finished  his  geat  work  here  crown  him  with  the 
highest  honors  which  his  country  can  confer  upon  him.  As  Protestant 
Christians  here  in  these  Islands  both  because  we  are  few  in  number  and 
our  relations  to  the  government  are  most  close  and  intimate,  as  well  as 
because  Protestant  Christianity  is  new  to  the  people  of  the  Islands,  we 
desire  more  particularly  to  emphasize  and  make  real  our  loyalty,  by  extend- 
ing the  utmost  of  our  moral  support  to  the  Civil  Commission  in  their 
endeavour  to  give  the  best  possible  government  to  this  great  Archipelago 
with  its  six  millions  of  people,  so  wonderfully  cast  upon  our  care 


The  Genesis  of  American  Constitution. 


I do  not  think  that  we  ought  to  pass  over  or  forget  that  our  American 
Constitution  and  our  form  of  Government  is  the  direct  outcome  of  Protest- 
ant Christianity.  It  is  a well-known  fact  that  all  forms  of  civilization  are 
determined  by  the  prevailing  type  and  form  of  the  religion  of  the  people. 
Civilization  never  created  a religion  but  religion  is  always  the  mother  of 
civilization.  Now  the  American  Constitution  and  its  peculiar  type  of  gov- 
ernent  and  civilization  is  the  direct  outgrowth  of  Protestant  Chritianity. 
The  war  of  the  American  Revolution  was  waged  in  defence  of  principles 
generated  by  the  Protestant  conscience  of  the  American  Colonists.  This 
is  neither  the  time  nor  place  to  at  length  discuss  this  point.  I must  at  best 
only  allude  to  it  and  bid  you  remember  it.  At  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
our  Constitution  the  vast  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  American 
Colonies  were  the  sturdiest  of  Protestants,  the  most  of  whose  fathers  had 
fled  to  our  shores  in  search  of  religious  rather  than  political  liberty.  There 
were  at  that  time  but  a handful  of  Roman  Catholics  in  the  country  and  they 
were  practically  limited  to  one  small  section.  And  yet  when  the  framers 
of  our  Constitution  made  provisions  for  religious  liberty  it  was  for  the 
Roman  Catholic  as  well  as  for  the  Protestant.  Since  the  framing  of  that 
Constitution  and  the  formation  of  our  Government  we  have  welcomed 
many  millions  of  Roman  Catholics  to  our  shores  and  to  our  liberties 
and  so  shall  we  ever  continue  to  do.  Can  any  one  for  a moment  conceive 
of  such  a Constitution  being  suggested  and  framed  by  a people  brought  up, 
trained  and  educated  in  a country  where  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  was 
dominant;  whose  central  tenet  is  to  deny  the  right  of  private  judgment  in 
religious  matters  and  the  freedom  of  the  individual  to  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience?  For  instance  can  you  imagine 
such  a Constitution  emanating  from  the  Filipino  people  under  the  lead  of 
the  Spanish  friars?  Can  you  imagine  such  a Constitution  being  born  in 
Spain  with  the  approval  and  hearty  support  of  the  Roman  Church?  Has 
the  Pope  of  Rome  with  his  college  of  Cardinals  ever  suggested  to  any 
Catholic  country  the  wisdom  of  so  altering  the  Constitution  of  their  country 
as  to  guarantee  absolute  religious  liberty  to  all  people?  Such  a thought  is 
unthinkable.  Rome  has  fought  to  the  death  in  every  country  where  she 
has  exercised  sovereignty  every  movement  in  the  direction  of  religious 
liberty.  In  these  Islands  within  less  than  a decade  the  noblest  and  greatest 
citizen  this  people  has  ever  produced  was  shot  to  death  by  the  authority  of 
the  Roman  Church  for  daring  to  teach  and  plead  for  civil  and  religious 
liberty  for  his  country  and  countrymen.  Protestantism  not  only  pleads 
for  liberty  of  conscience  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  worship  of  God,  but 
for  the  civil  and  political  liberty  of  all  men.  If  the  United  States  stands  in 
the  forefront  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  as  the  conservator  of  all  the  rights 


9 


and  liberties  of  men,  civil  and  religious,  it  is  because  our  government  is  the 
offspring  and  fruit  of  the  Protestant  conscience.  Let  us  not  forget  this  nor 
minimize  its  importance  when  dealing  with  the  many  and  grave  problems 
that  confront  us  in  these  Islands. 

Protestantism  and  Free  Speech  and  Criticism. 

Protestantism  has  primarily  to  do  with  the  individual  and  with  the 
individual’s  relation  to  God ; but  its  message  and  mission  does  not  end  here. 
It  has  also  a responsibility  and  a message  in  respect  of  and  to  the  social, 
civil  and  political  community  in  which  it  exists.  It  has  not  to  do  with 
politics,  but  it  has  to  do  with  all  questions  that  enter  into  the  well-being  of 
the  community  and  the  State.  It  assumes  no  authority  over  the  State  but 
it  reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  criticise  from  the  point  of  view  of  morals 
and  righteousness  the  lives  and  policies  of  those  who  are  set  to  govern  the 
people.  Wickedness  and  unrighteousness  in  high  places  whether  in  the 
individual  ruler  or  in  the  policy  of  the  government,  when  that  policy  affects 
the  rights  of  the  citizen  under  the  Constitution  or  invades  the  domain  of 
national  righteousness  or  morality,  calls  for  the  declaration  of  the  law  of 
God  in  criticism,  in  rebuke  or  in  teaching.  There  is  still  a message  from 
God  to  the  King,  in  the  mouth  of  Protestantism.  Time  would  fail  me  to 
tell  of  the  great  moral,  social,  political,  and  national  reforms  effected  by  the 
persistent  voicing  of  the  Protestant  conscience  of  America.  Fifty  years 
ago  the  preaching  of  what  was  then  called  “The  Higher  Law,”  which  was 
in  effect  onlf:  the  public  appeal  from  the  technical  law  of  the  land  to  the 
law  of  God,  so  aroused  the  conscience  of  the  American  people  against  the 
institution  of  human  slavery,  that  that  institution,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  entrenched  behind  the  Constitution,  custom,  the  social  aristocracy  of 
the  South  and  the  vast  wealth  which  it  represented  and  the  gigantic  rebel- 
lion organized  in  its  defence,  went  down  in  a sea  of  blood  such  as  the  world 
had  never  before  seen.  This  campaign  of  the  Protestant  conscience  of 
America  cost  the  nation  a million  human  lives,  untold  treasure  and  five 
years  of  internecine  strife  the  contemplation  of  which  did  more  than 
“stagger  humanity.”  This  same  Protestant  conscience  voicing  itself  from 
pulpit  and  platform  and  through  the  public  press  attacked  and  has  finally 
destroyed  the  other  twin  relique  of  barbarism — Polygamy.  Only  two 
years  ago  when  a Mormon  representative  from  Utah  formally  and  duly 
elected  presented  himself  in  the  halls  of  Congress  to  take  his  seat  he  was 
challenged  at  the  very  doors ; not  because  there  was  any  flaw  in  his  creden- 
tials, but  because  he  came  an  avowed  polygamist ; thus  outraging  in  his 
person  and  presence  the  sacred  institution  of  family  life.  His  expulsion 
from  Congress  was  not  in  obedience  to  technical  law  but  the  demands  of 
the  Protestant  conscience.  Xot  long  ago  one  of  the  idols  of  the  Senate  who 


10 


had  held  his  seal  continuously  for  many  years  and  might  have  held  it  for 
the  rest  of  his  life,  in  a speech  in  the  Senate  chamber  gave  utterance  to 
atheistical  sentiments.  When  he  next  appeared  before  his  constituents  for 
re-election  he  was  instantly  and  almost  unanimously  “turned  down.”  The 
American  conscience  presumes  not  to  meddle  with  any  man’s  religious  belief 
or  unbelief.  Any  man  may  be  Christian,  infidel  or  atheist  and  may  publicly 
avow  that  faith  or  unfaith  on  the  platform  or  through  the  press ; but  wnen 
as  a public  man  or  high  official  of  the  United  States  and  especially  as  a 
representative  of  the  people,  he  avows  himself  an  atheist,  the  public  con- 
science of  the  State  or  Nation  will  have  none  of  him.  Col.  Robert  Inger- 
sol,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  eloquent  of  i\mericans  once  in  a public 
place  loudly  and  defiantly  challenged  his  auditors  with  this  hypothetical 
question : “What  has  Christianity  ever  done  for  me  that  I should  be  a 

Christian  ?”  A quiet  Christian  lady  when  all  the  men  were  silent  took  her 
courage  in  her  hands  and  replied,  “Col.  Ingersol,  if  you  will  allow  me  I 
will  tell  you  what  Christianity  has  done  for  you.  It  has  prevented  you  from 
becoming  Governor  of  the  great  State  of  Illinois ; from  being  a Senator  of 
the  United  States  or  occupying  any  high  representative  office  in  the  United 
States  which  otherwise  your  brilliant  talents  would  have  secured  to  you.” 
This  brave  answer  of  a Christian  woman  puts  the  whole  matter  in  a nut- 
shell. The  Protestant  conscience  meddles  not  with  anv  man’s  private 
opinions  nor  interferes  with  his  perfect  liberty  to  express  them,  but  it  will 
not  tolerate  in  her  officials  in  their  official  capacity  the  denial  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  religion. 

To-day  more  than  at  any  other  time  in  the  history  of  our  country  the 
Protestant  conscience  is  operative  in  the  determining  of  all  public  questions 
whether  social  or  political.  It  was  the  Protestant  conscience  of  the  Nation 
which,  recently  aroused  against  the  greed  and  rapacity  of  the  coal  barons 
and  the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  attitude  of  the  Miners’  Union,  enabled 
our  strenuous,  brave  and  righteous  President  to  step  in  and  settle  that 
unholy  strife.  It  was  the  moral  rather  than  the  commercial  and  political 
questions  involved  in  that  conflict  between  capital  and  labor  which  brought 
the  conscience  of  the  Nation  to  bear  upon  it  and  compelled  a settlement 
where  the  captains  of  finance  and  industry,  the  labor  leaders  and  the  politi- 
cians failed.  It  was  when  the  financial  strife  over  our  currency  began  to  be 
stated  in  the  terms  of  conscience  and  was  resolved  into  the  prop)osition 
whether  or  not  the  currency  of  the  United  States  should  or  should  not  be 
an  “honest”  currency  that  the  “honest”  dollar  won  the  day.  In  the  matter 
of  our  dealings  with  Cuba  and,  I may  add,  with  the  Philippines,  it  will  be 
the  American  conscience  or  sense  of  righteousness  and  not  the  selfish  inter- 
ests of  the  beet  sugar  men  on  the  one  hand  or  the  general  trade  interests  of 
the  country  on  the  other  that  will  finally  settle  these  questions.  President 
Roosevelt  is  making  no  mistake  when  he  appeals  to  the  Christian  conscience 


of  the  country  in  support  of  his  policy  of  righteousness,  everywhere  in  his 
public  addresses  practically  declaring  that  it  is  “righteousness  that  exalteth 
a nation”  while  “sin  is  a reproach  to  any  people.”  Alas  ! that  all  our  public 
men  do  not  recognize  this  great  truth.  But  let  me  in  the  name  of  the 
American  people  serve  this  notice  upon  all  our  public  men  whether  at  home 
or  in  these  Islands  that  the  Protestant  conscience  is  a factor  in  public  life 
that  must  be  reckoned  with, 

American  Irreligion  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 

In  a recent  Thanksgiving  sermon  preached  from  this  platform  I ven- 
tured to  call  attention  to  the  regrettable  fact  that  no  American  member  of 
the  Civil  Commission  for  the  Government  of  these  Islands  participated  in 
the  public  worship  of  God  on  the  Lord’s  day,  and  that  the  Sanctuary  of  the 
Lord’s  day  was  habitually  invaded  and  desecrated  by  the  needless  transac- 
tion of  public  business ; and  that  this  public  and  official  example  was  being 
followed  by  the  more  prominent  Americans  in  Manila;  and  that  it  was  the 
common  belief  that  there  was  some  implicit  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  to  discourage  the  worship  of  God  in  Protestant  Christian 
Churches  in  this  city  and  throughout  these  Islands.  I am  more  than  happy 
to  say  that  the  Governor  assures  me  that  there  is  no  such  policy  either 
explicit  or  implicit  on  the  part  of  the  Insular  Government,  but  only  that 
the  unanimous  non-Church-going  habit  of  high  government  officials  is  a 
pure  coincidence  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  American  members  of  the 
Commission  are  all  non-Church-going  men.  We  Protestants  do  not  in  any 
sense  assume  to  compel  our  public  men  to  be  Christians,  but  we  do  feel  that 
ii  is  within  our  province  to  criticise  such  a unanimous  non-religious  habit 
on  the  part  of  officials.  If  this  is  their  attitude  toward  religion  and  the 
public  recognition  of  God  it  is  not  a matter  of  wonder  that  almost  the  entire 
American  community  in  Manila  follow  their  example  and  that,  while  we 
find  the  public  race  courses  and  the  fields  of  sport  crowded,  the  Social  Clubs 
of  the  City  in  full  blast,  public  business  in  full  swing  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
the  houses  of  worship  are  practically  empty  and  the  worship  of  God  under 
whose  blessing  we  have  become  so  great  a people  almost  totally  abandoned. 
Such  habits  especially  in  official  circles  are  utterly  inconsistent  with  the 
declaration  our  our  honored  Governor  quoted  in  another  place ; namely,  that 
“the  founders  of  our  government  were  profoundly  convinced  that  religion 
must  he  upheld  for  the  benefit  of  the  State,  and  that  it  was  the  basis  for  the 
morality  of  the  citizen.”  If  this  is  a true  statement  of  the  “profound  con- 
viction of  the  founders  of  our  government,”  I hope  I will  not  be  deemed 
imf>ertinent  if  I ask  our  present  rulers  if  they  are  honestly  seeking  to  give 
this  profound  conviction  forceful  and  objective  expression?  And  I ven- 
ture, in  closing  the  discussion  of  this  point,  to  say  that  the  unanimous  habit 


12 


of  ignoring  the  public  worship  of  God  on  the  part  of  our  Civil  Rulers  and 
high  officials  is  not  according  to  best  American  ideals;  it  is  poor  religion;  it 
is  bad  morality;  and  worse  politics.  Such  an  attitude  toward  religion  in 
our  national  home  Government  would  not  be  condoned  by  the  American 
people  during  a second  term ; and  the  time  is  not  distant  when  it  will  not  be 
condoned  here.  Protestants  do  not  ask  either  for  Government  patronage 
or  support,  but  they  do  demand  in  the  name  of  religion  that  the  best  tradi- 
tions of  the  country  be  not  persistently  violated  by  the  highest  officials  of 
the  land. 

III.  PROTESTANTISM  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  ROMAN 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

For  three  hundred  years  the  Roman  Catholic  has  wielded  the  spiritual 
and  temjxDral  su\^ereignty  of  these  Islands.  In  that  time  no  expression  of 
Protestant  faith  or  worship  was  allowed.  The  coming  in  of  the  American 
sovereignty  and  government  with  the  Constitutional  guarantees  of  religious 
liberty  to  all  the  people  has  changed  that  ancient  state  of  things.  Through 
this  open  door  of  religious  liberty  guaranteed  by  the  American  Constitu- 
tion, Protestants  have  entered  these  Islands  and  Protestant  worship  and 
work  has  established  itself  here. 

IV.  PROTESTANTISM  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

OF  THESE  ISLANDS. 

American  Protestants  are  here  not  only  to  exercise  their  own  religious 
faith  among  and  for  themselves  but  also  as  missionary  bodies  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  as  they  understand  it,  and  make  disciples  from  among  the  people 
native  to  the  Islands.  I have  more  than  once  been  asked  by  Roman 
Catholics  and  I am  ashamed  to  say  by  American  officials  in  tones  of  sneer- 
ing contempt,  by  what  right  we  Protestants  presumed  to  come  to  this 
Roman  Catholic  coimtry  and  engage  in  missionary  operations.  I have  heard 
the  Protestant  pastors  and  missionaries  spoken  of  as  “intruders”  and  “inter- 
lopers;” as  “busy  bodies,”  coming  “to  disturb  the  religious  peace  and  quiet 
of  the  Islands  and  to  stir  up  unprofitable  and  harmful  strife.”  I have 
been  told  that  the  people  were  content  with  their  old  faith  and  that  it  was 
cruel  to  sow  seeds  of  discontent  among  them.  It  is  the  old  cry  of  the 
Ephesians  when  the  first  Apostles  invaded  classic  Pagan  Greece : “These 

that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down  have  come  hither  also.”  I confess 
that  such  questions  asked  by  the  adherents  of  the  old  Church  who  like  not 
to  see  their  despotic  ecclesiastical  power  passing  away  from  them  have  in 
no  wise  surprised  me ; but  that  an  American  should  ask  such  questions  and 
presume  to  pass  such  criticisms  upon  American  Christians ; and  especially 


13 


lliat  American  officials  should  be  among  these  unfriendly  interlocutors  is  a 
matter  of  no  little  amazement  to  me.  Might  we  not  in  turn  ask  the  Amer- 
ican Government  why  she  has  entered  these  Islands  ? Has  not  Spain  pos- 
sessed them  for  three  hundred  years  and  was  she  not  content  with  her  form 
of  government  and  type  of  civilization.  What  right  and  justification  have 
we  Americans  to  be  here  at  all.  This  is  the  question  the  American 
“a(u)nties  at  home  are  all  day  long  dinning  into  our  ears.  What  right 
have  the  Americans  to  rush  in  with  their  new  schemes  of  trade?  Were  not 
the  Spanish  and  Filipino  and  Chino  merchants  here  and  in  possession  ? Is 
it  not  wrong  and  impertinent  for  the  Americans  to  come  in  and  dispute 
with  them  the  monopoly  of  business  and  especially  to  disturb  the  old 
“manana”  methods  of  business?  What  right  have  we  to  propose  and  intro- 
duce a new  silver  dollar  with  a fixed  value  and  to  turn  out  “neck  and  crop” 
the  old  worthless  Mexican  peso  ? To  all  this  I hear  the  answers : “We 
are  here  because  ‘duty  and  destiny’  demanded  it.  We  are  here  to  deliver 
these  six  millions  of  people  from  the  curse  and  oppression  of  Medieval 
government  and  confer  upon  them  the  blessings  of  American  civilization. 
We  are  here  to  introduce  new  and  better  and  more  enterprising  methods  of 
business  and  to  develop  the  vast  undeveloped  resources  of  this  Archipelago. 
In  a ^Vord  we  are  here  because  in  the  mysterious  providence  of  God  the 
time  had  come  for  us  to  be  here.  And  it  may  be  added  that  we  are  here 
to  stay.”  Such  high  and  lofty  political  sentiments  when  uttered  on  the 
platforms  or  in  the  halls  of  Congress  are  cheered  to  echo.  Well,  we 
Protestant  Christians  are  here  because  the  door  is  set  open  before  us.  We 
are  here  because  our  Master  has  bidden  us  to  “Go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  and  make  disciples  of  all  nations.”  We 
are  here  not  to  exploit  the  people  but  to  do  them  good ; to  give  to  them  a 
simpler,  a better  and  more  spiritual  form  of  Christianity.  In  a word  we 
are  here  for  reasons  analogous  with  those  that  are  actuating  our  country- 
men who  are  seeking  the  political  and  commercial  regeneration  of  these 
Islands:  and  I trust  with  motives  just  as  much  higher  as  the  cause  of 
religion  and  human  salvation  is  higher  than  the  cause  of  the  best  human 
government  and  the  greatest  of  commercial  enterprises.  To  all  critics  of 
this  kind  I would  say,  “O,  thou  blind  physician,  heal  thyself.”  And  I think 
I am  not  uncharitable  in  suggesting  that  it  is  hardly  consistent  for  our 
political  and  commercial  critics  to  go  about  with  huge  beams  protruding 
from  their  eyes  with  which  to  discover  and  pick  out  imagined  motes  from 
the  eyes  of  the  Protestant  Christian  missionaries  who  have  been  sent  to 
these  Islands.  In  any  case  zve  are  here  and  here  to  stay.  The  United  States 
may  some  day  retire  from  these  Islands,  though  it  is  not  likely  to  occur 
in  this  or  the  next  generation  of  time,  but  even  so  Protestant  Christianity 
will  remain  and  continue  to  do  the  w’ork  which  under  God  we  have  set  our 
hands  to  do,  whatever  the  future  political  destiny  of  the  Islands  may  be. 


u 

We  are  here  because  there  are  millions  of  non-Christian  people  in  these 
Islands  which  the  Roman  Catholics  never  even  attempted  to  Christianize 
and  which  remain  yet  to  hear  the  gospel  of  the  love  of  God.  Gov.  Kamp, 
speaking  to  me  of  the  Iggarotes  said  with  some  enthusiasm  that  they  were 
the  finest  people  in  Luzon  and  mainly,  said  he,  “because  they  have  never 
been  corrupted  by  Christianity.”  I ventured  to  suggest  an  amendment  to  his 
criticism  by  saying,  “you  mean  by  that  they  have  never  been  oppressed  and 
debased  by  a corrupt  Christianity.”  “Well,”  he  said,  “put  it  in  your  own 
way.”  To  the  non-Christian  tribes  we  have  a mission  and  when  we  bring 
to  them  the  gospel  of  love  and  liberty,  of  peace  and  good-will  they  will  no 
longer  say  that  the  white  man’s  religion  only  oppresses  and  makes  men 
worse. 


The  Religious  Discontent  of  the  People. 

We  have  been  told  over  and  over  again  that  by  introducing  Protestant 
Christianity  among  the  people  we  were  disturbers  of  the  religious  peace  of 
the  Islands.  Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth  than  this.  First,  we 
are  not  disturbers  of  the  religious  peace  of  the  people,  but  the  bringers  in 
of  peace;  the  peace  of  righteousness,  purity  and  good-will.  Second,  the 
people  are  not  content  with  the  religion  of  the  old  Church.  As  a matter  of 
fact  every  well-informed  man  knows  that  the  recent  insurrection  against  the 
Spanish  government,  before  we  came  to  these  Islands,  was  not  so  much 
against  the  Government  as  it  was  against  their  ecclesiastical  masters,  the 
Spanish  friars.  Was  it  not  true  that  just  so  soon  as  Spain  was  powerless 
to  protect  the  friars  they  had  to  flee  for  their  lives  to  Manila  for  protection 
from  the  wrath  of  the  people  who  had  been  crushed  under  their  intolerable 
oppressions  ? Here  are  those  friars  in  Manila  to  this  day.  Why  do  they 
not  return  to  their  provincial  parishes?  Why  ? Because  they  do  not  dare 
face  the  hatred  and  fury  of  the  people.  Is  it  not  true  that  so  deeply  seated 
is  this  aversion  of  the  people  toward  their  old  religious  teachers  and 
ecclesiastical  masters  that  in  order  to  insure  peace  in  the  Islands  the  Govern- 
ment is  now  negotiating  with  the  Pope  of  Rome  to  voluntarily  retire  them  ? 

Entirely  apart  from  the  friar  question  there  is  now  a movement  in  the 
Church  itself  or  at  least  among  the  people  themselves  looking  to  the 
casting  off  the  yoke  of  Rome  and  organizing  a free  Filipino  Catholic 
Church,  proclaiming  religious  liberty  and  an  open  Bible  among  their 
tenets.  The  Romanists  may  sneer  and  denounce  the  Aglipay  movement 
but  all  over  these  Islands  there  are  countless  thousands  of  people  who  are 
welcomng  him  as  a religious  reformer  who  shall  deliver  them  from  oppres- 
sions and  superstitions  of  the  old  Church  of  Rome. 

Beside  this  there  are  already  thousands  of  native  men  and  women  who 
have  welcomed  Protestant  Christianity.  In  a score  of  centres  in  this  city 


15 


nightly  may  be  heard  the  songs  and  prayers  of  native  Protestants  who  are 
joyfully  worshipping  God  with  a sense  of  spiritual,  intellectual  and  bodily 
freedom  never  before  dreamed  of  by  them.  And  from  all  over  the  Prov- 
inces the  cry  from  native  Filipinos  comes  to  us  to  send  them  religious 
teachers  and  preachers.  The  native  Filipino  iProtestant  Christians  are 
already  numbered  not  by  hundreds  but  by  thousands  and  their  number  is 
daily  and  hourly  increasing.  If  the  people  are  content  with  the  old  Church 
why  are  they  buying  and  paying  for  5,000  copies  of  the  Bible  every  month? 

An  American  military  officer  of  high  rank,  himself  not  a Christian, 
told  me  the  other  day  that  the  presence  of  a Protestant  missionary  in  any 
part  of  these  Islands  was  worth  more  than  a battalion  of  soldiers  for  all 
purposes  of  pacification. 

I have  trespassed  upon  your  patience  but  your  manifest  interest  in  the 
discussion  of  this  important  subject  has  tempted  me  to  discuss  at  greater 
length,  than  my  original  purpose  was,  some  of  the  matters  before  us.  It  is 
my  sincere  desire,  and  I am  sure  it  is  of  my  Protestant  confreres  to  live 
peaceably  with  all  men,  as  far  as  that  may  be  possible,  but  in  any  case  we 
must  be  loyal  to  our  Divine  Master,  “whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve.” 
And  May  God  bless  His  own  truth  and  prosper  His  own  cause. 


i6 


In  connection  with  this  series  of  meetings  in  the  interests  of  our 
religious  work  in  the  Philippines,  and  especially  of  a Church  Edifice  in 
IManila  for  Americans,  we  make  an  appeal  for  aid. 

We  need  to  meet  the  opportunity  that  now  beckons  us  in  the  Philip- 
pines one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  a 
Church  Edifice  of  commanding  architecture,  as  expressing  the  faith  and 
purpose  of  Presbyterianism  and  to  meet  the  expenses  of  this  advance  move- 
ment and  to  provide  for  the  enlargement  of  our  entire  religious  work  in  the 
Philippines. 

Such  a Church  would  be  the  inspirational  center  of  our  evangelistic 
work  in  the  Philippines  and  the  parent  of  many  other  churches  in  various 
cities  in  the  Philippines. 

Are  there  not  fifty  men  in  this  Broad  La?id  who  will  give  one 
thousand  dollars  apiece  for  this  work  ? 

Are  there  not  numberless  other  people.  Fathers  and  Alothers  who  have 
sons  or  daughters  in  the  Philippines  who  will  gladly  give  smaller  amounts  ? 

In  regard  to  the  condition  in  Manila,  one  word  solves  the  difficulty : 
viz.  Immediately.  With  money  in  hand  for  this  work  as  thus  outlined  : 

Immediately  we  ought  to  sail. 

Immediately  we  ought  to  purchase  ground. 

Immediately  we  ought  to  begin  to  build. 

Immediately  we  ought  to  set  in  operation  larger  Gospel  means  and 
methods  of  salvation. 

Help  to  spell  that  word  Immediately  by  an  offering  to  this  cause. 

Do  not  retire  for  the  night  until  you  have  made  out  your  check. 

Send  it  the  first  thing  to-morrow  morning  to  Mr.  Charles  W.  Hand, 
Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  Xew 
York  City. 

Designated  Special  Philippine  Fund. 


Rev.  S.  B.  Rossiter,  D.D. 

Appointed  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 

Manila,  Philippine  Islands. 


